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I use FlexMLS for my clients. They ftp the IDX and property photos each night in a zip file onto my server in a protected directory. I then use a shell script to decompress the zip. The IDX is in a CSV file, so I had to write php code to parse it then insert into the database. Lastly, it moves the photos to a gallery folder that is not password protected (i.e. no .htaccess).

These sites are big, so expect to allocate about 1G+ for data and overall allocate 3x that for the unzipping process. You will also need to write a shell script that will delete old photos for listings no longer online -- otherwise you will fill up a drive, quick.

Here is a really old site that I built about 5 years back. I had to do all of the above in order to create a custom MLS search, rather than using the tacky MLS search forms the idx brokers provide.

You will also need to get permission, sign forms etc, from your area board of realtors in order to use the data. In addition, there are LOTS of fields that should not be displayed to the public. Be aware of this!

It took about 30 days to build. Yeah, they are all different and some don't carry specific areas. I belive FlexMLS only costed $400 for a one time set up with no monthly fees.

Check with them and they can tell you what data and for what areas they can provide. I really wouldn't want to get into pulling data from two different brokers...that could be a mess since the IDX files usually differ and there are about 2000 fields. And fields within fields. It is tricky, because in the data files you may have records for residential that include a garage, but for commercial or land, there is no garage field.